Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 378 i Australasian Transport News (ATN)

Sometimes the thought occurs that what should be relatively straightforward administration of the nation has been made so needlessly complex it is all but impossible. Take energy prices as an example. At the start of the decade, when fuel prices were fairly high but gas and electricity low, the idea that a market mechanism be used to ease the transition to cleaner electricity production, mostly through renewables, caused massive anxiety. The connection was less than hard but elements of the trucking industry were so swayed that the ‘Convoy of No Confidence’ arrived in Canberra to make feelings known, with some brave souls taking their trucks right across the country to make a point. What that actually was remains a little unclear but an underlying one was that voices should be…

The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU), Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) and Textile, Clothing and Footwear Union of Australia (TCFUA) have merged, in a move opposed by industry and employer organisations. The new Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMMEU) was sanctioned by the Fair Work Commission in March, two years after the move was first proposed. After the move was flagged two years ago, cooperation between the MUA and the CFMEU was given an early outing in December at the series of Victoria International Container Terminal (VICT) actions, following serious Australian Logistics Council (ALC) worries over the concentration of union power in November. ALC managing director Michael Kilgariff voiced concerns that supply chains will “now be subject to the whims of a powerful mega-union, comprised of…

ANOTHER INDUSTRY ORGANISATION is raising its voice about the issue of infrastructure surcharges, which it says is creating a series of challenges for its members. The Customs Brokers and Forwarders Council of Australia (CBFCA) says the domestic cost components of Australia’s international trade have been rising in recent months due to what it says are “third party generated issues”. “In most cases, the issues have been caused by either increases in ‘land based’ pricing charges that have been masked as cost recovery processes or by service interface changes designed to suit other industry third parties,” the CBFCA says. CBFCA says these costs are being passed on from the major players, such as shipping lines or stevedoring companies, through to smaller participants – who are forced to either absorb these costs…

STANDING STILL may be going forward in a statistical sense for heavy vehicle fatal crash figures, given the number of trucks on the road continues to rise, but the dismal fact remains there has been no sustained improvement in numbers for four years. The Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics’ (BITRE) latest Fatal heavy vehicle crashes Australia quarterly bulletin shows fatal crashes involving heavy trucks rose 2.4 per cent is 2017, from 164 to 168, and fell by an average of 1.9 per cent a year for the preceding three years. But the trend has been even since 2013, a year that saw fatal crashes involving articulated and heavy rigid trucks fall from around 200. Articulated fatal crashes rose 3.3 per cent last year, from 92 to 95, and…

LINX CARGO CARE GROUP will run Sydney’s Enfield Intermodal Logistics Centre (ILC) after winning a NSW Ports tender for the task. Linx already controls vehicle logistics firm Autocare, forestry firm C3 and Victorian bulk port GeelongPort. Presently operated by Aurizon, which has exited intermodal operations, Linx will lease and operate the facility, located 18km from Port Botany, to which it has a direct dedicated freight rail link. Financial details were not made available. The company notes that Infrastructure NSW forecasts truck traffic at Port Botany will increase by 400 per cent by 2030, largely driven by expected growth in freight volumes. Container movements through Port Botany are forecast to increase from more than 2 million TEU (20-foot equivalent units) now to 7 million in 2031, creating a bottle-neck through the…

LINFOX has partnered with Telstra and MTData to implement an advanced telematics and management solution into its Australian truck fleet, with a safety dividend in mind. According to the transport and logistics giant, the internet of things (IOT) technology will be rolled out across all Linfox trucks and will deliver advanced transport and logistics data and quality benchmarking information to enhance public and driver safety on Australian roads. “We are in a critical time in the logistics industry and it’s important to deliver technology that will ensure greater safety for our drivers and the communities in which we operate,” Linfox CIO Conrad Harvey says. Telstra’s IOT solution will include Samsung tablets mounted into Linfox cabs so drivers can access logbooks and complete safety checklists, and have capability, in some vehicles,…

K&S Corporation has found a wide silver lining its somewhat grim first-half forecast of less than three months ago. Back then, chairman Tony Johnson prepared shareholders for a 15 per cent fall in underlying profits for the six months. Now they find the word ‘up’ on net profits – 15 per cent to 4.6 million – and revenues, 18.6 per cent to $417.6 million – compared with the same period last year. To be sure, that underlying profit was down as forecast but at only 8.6 or 7.5 per cent, depending on tax. And the company made plain that there were difficulties faced by certain segments, along with the gains. “We have realised improved trading in our Western Australian and Northern Territory resource businesses,” it says. “Our chemical business, predominantly…

Automotive Holding Group (AHG) has appointed seasoned company director Rob McEniry, right, as chairman of the board. McEniry succeeds David Griffiths, who has held the chair since November 2010 and retires 11 years to the day since his appointment to the board in February 2007. He has experience of more than 25 years in the automotive industry, including five years as chair, president and CEO of Mitsubishi Motors Australia. He is chair of Bapcor, formerly Burson Group and is also a director of Multiple Sclerosis Society. McEniry thanked Griffiths for his service to the company and his guidance as chairman since 2010.…

“Since the incident, Toll has developed a Release of Dangerous Goods Form”  A NEW SOUTH WALES dangerous goods case has been completed with Toll Global Forwarding, as consignor, fined $75,000 plus Environment Protection Authority (EPA) costs in the Land and Environment Court. The Toll freight forwarding and customs clearance arm had pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that the transport of dangerous goods from Port Botany to Smithfield was conducted in a safe manner in a case that will be seen to include a link in the chain of responsibility that critics charge is often missing. The same case saw transport firm Stockwell International and a driver fined $84,000 and $2800 respectively last year. In October 2014, Toll Global Forwarding was involved in arranging the transport of about 16 tonnes…

INACCURATE RECORD KEEPING has led to a successful Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) prosecution of construction services firm Metropolitan Demolitions, it has emerged. The Sydney construction services company and a director were fined $1.5 million and ordered to pay $50,000 in costs in the Downing Centre Local Court after pleading guilty, according to RMS. The plea and the court involved mean the sentence was delivered orally and no written judgement was recorded, a court spokesperson tells ATN. Asked about the ase, RMS says it carried out an investigation and subsequent prosecution in relation to the overloading of heavy vehicles by the Metropolitan Demolitions Group. “Companies Metropolitan Demolitions & Recycling Pty Ltd and Metropolitan Demolitions Pty Ltd, as well as an executive officer, each faced court for breaches of the Heavy…

A CHANGE IN HOW EMPTY containers are dehired and the loss of two Brisbane clients has contributed to transport and logistics company Chalmers making a net profit loss for the six months to December 31. Chalmers recorded a loss of $806,619 after tax for the half, greater than the loss of the $101,969 it recorded in the first half of 2016-17, on the back of a fall in revenue ($31.6 million in 2017 compared to $32.7 million in 2016). The company recorded a full-year net profit after tax of $481,000 in August last year. In its announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), Chalmers says the half-year result is was “a significant deterioration” compared to the previous year. Chalmers’ empty container parks in Brisbane and Melbourne experienced the biggest drops…

THE NATIONAL HEAVY VEHICLE REGULATOR (NHVR) has released the draft Electronic Work Diary (EWD) Compliance Policy ensuring that electronic and written work diaries are treated the same. NHVR safety and productivity executive director Geoff Casey says the EWD Compliance Policy would provide the right balance between safety and compliance to ensure a consistent approach for those who voluntarily use the new technology and that information is accurate and accessible. “The policy outlines the NHVR’s requirements for meeting record keeping laws whether you utilise the technology or use traditional Written Work Diaries [WWDs],” Casey says. “For example, EWDs will record and show work and rest time to the nearest minute, unlike WWDs, which use blocks of 15 minutes. This will be a benefit to many drivers who will no longer have…

“I’m confident he’ll bring this drive and determination to supporting the road transport industry” MICHAEL MCCORMACK has taken over Barnaby Joyce’s federal infrastructure and transport ministerial portfolio along with the Nationals Party leadership, and industry groups have been quick to weigh in. McCormack, left, will combine the role with that of small business minister, taking that portfolio into cabinet, and deputy prime minister. The move marks the ninth change of transport minister in 20 years and the fifth in five years. The Australian Trucking Association (ATA) chair Geoff Crouch says McCormack is a good choice, having known him for more than 20 years. “He is a proven advocate for small business, and regional and remote Australia. I’m confident he’ll bring this drive and determination to supporting the road transport industry,”…

PORT OF MELBOURNE chief operating officer Brendan Bourke, left, has taken his place on the Ports Australia board of directors. Bourke fills a vacancy created by outgoing director Steve Lewis formerly of North Queensland Bulk Ports. He hopes to use his experience to help Ports Australia focus its advocacy on the supply chain as a whole. “I look forward to playing a role within Ports Australia, using its platform to promote a number of nationally important issues,” Bourke says. “They range from the work the organisation does in promoting community awareness of the role of ports to the economy and liveability of the country through to strategic planning and investment.” Bourke brings more than 35 years of corporate experience and a wealth of infrastructure expertise, including a tenure as CEO…

R.C. Sadleir first opened for business in Fremantle in 1895 as customs, shipping and forwarding agents, registering as a company in 1923. Lionel Samson & Son was founded in 1829 by two brothers, Lionel and William, who arrived on the second settlement fleet into Fremantle. They started a merchant liquor and general import-export business and by the 1880s were the single largest importer of beer and spirits into Australia. By 1898, Lionel Samson’s business grew substantially. Having relied largely on horse-drawn transportation, he acquired Sadleirs in 1936, which moved to a fleet of motor lorries in 1925. Its fleet consisted of 21 vehicles by 1955. Sadleirs and Lionel Samson and Son joined forces in 2012, becoming the Lionel Samson Sadleirs Group. The company operates road and rail services throughout Australia,…

You would have to look to Africa or the Middle East to find similar conditions that challenge on-road refrigeration and air-conditioning that are a part of Australian life. Sure the majority of the busiest parts of the road network are First World but enormous stretches are difficult and remote, meaning equipment here often has to function at optimum levels for longer than most other places. This puts the onus on owners to ease the strain on machinery in between service intervals. With that in mind, ATN sought out two refrigeration service providers for their wisdom on how to get the best out of their systems. THERMAL MARK Thermal Mark Transport Refrigeration, in western Sydney, provides refrigerated solutions for trucks, semi-trailers, utes and vans. Its MD, Marc Gauci, is in no…

SIX YEARS after facing raids and a range of charges in New South Wales, Fred’s Interstate Transport Group has seen most of them dismissed or withdrawn. The Borg-family controlled group’s five companies had been caught up in a series of Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) and police actions in 2012 that saw a series of high-profile and, in some cases, controversial prosecutions ensue involving NSW, South Australian and Victorian companies. In all, there were 217 charges comprising 157 alleged speeding charges brought against corporate entities and 60 derivative liability offences brought against three directors, the decision reads. Magistrate Theo Tsavdaridis dismissed all charges related to the duty of operators to ensure speeding offences are not committed and of liability of directors and managers for offences by an enterprise and its…

Primary producer concerns at the possible impact of freight chain of responsibility (COR) reforms may have been somewhat allayed after further consultations. The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) says its chain of responsibility manager, Kym Farquharson-Jones, has been travelling across Australia outlining the changes to many of the 165,000 businesses that make up the heavy vehicle supply chain. “Because they are part of the heavy vehicle supply chain, primary producers have for almost a decade had the same legislative obligations for heavy vehicle safety as other parties in the chain,” Farquharson-Jones says. “Amendments to the COR laws coming later this year will align the existing laws more closely with workplace health and safety provisions. “This means that all parties in the chain, including primary producers, must proactively reduce risks related…

VicRoads has changed current road rules that will simplify the transportation of farming machinery in Victoria. The state roads authority says the move is by way of planning to meet modern demands and the fast-growing needs of the agricultural industry. Agricultural equipment has steadily increased in size and weight over the recent years, and according to many farmers, much of this equipment hasn’t met the Victorian mass and dimension limits. “We’ve worked closely with the Victorian Farmers Federation and the Tractor and Machinery Association to make travel easier and safer for heavy vehicles on Victorian roads,” a VicRoads spokesperson says. “These changes will benefit farmers and drivers by increasing mass limits and allowing agricultural equipment to transport loads.” The new Victorian Class 1 Agricultural Vehicle Exemption Notice legislation will adapt…

Egregious examples of non-compliance dot the results of the most recent New South Wales heavy vehicle compliance action – Operation Shield – though the wrong-doers do remain a minority. During the week-long operation Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) inspected 10,302 heavy vehicle units and detected 119 fatigue law breaches in NSW. Officers also issued 926 defect and 257 infringement notices. RMS director of compliance Roger Weeks says the results are a reminder that while most operators are doing the right thing, some are willing to risk the lives of people on our roads. “Operation Shield has again shown that the majority of people in the trucking industry do the right thing, with 86 per cent of vehicles and drivers fully compliant,” Weeks says. “However, the serious nature of problems found…

Australia Post’s parcels arm is doing the heavy lifting as it reports a first half bolstered by property sales and other one-off items. Net profits were up 65 per cent to $217 million with the extras, after revenue rose 3 per cent to $3.6 billion, while earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) was up 1 per cent to $349 million. The government-owned group says parcel revenues increased 8 per cent in the period, outperforming retail sales growth. “Competitive pressures impacted the domestic parcels earnings growth modestly, but the growth did compensate for the 10 per cent fall in addressed letter volumes,” it adds. Group CEO and MD Christine Holgate says, during the first half, the business made progress in driving further operational efficiencies, achieving a further $113 million…

The Australian Trucking Association (ATA) has spoken out strongly against a move to close the Federal Interstate Registration Scheme (FIRS), after legislation to do so was introduced in Federal Parliament recently. Vehicles that are registered with FIRS are exempt from stamp duty, and ATA chair Geoff Crouch says overturning the scheme would lead to a $6.2 million annual tax increase on new heavy vehicles. “While the Government has proposed a one-off stamp duty exemption for existing FIRS vehicles, the exemption will not address the ongoing annual costs for operators who would normally register new vehicles in FIRS,” he says. However, according to former assistant minister to the Deputy Prime Minister Damian Drum, the legislation is “the next logical step … towards a more productive and effective heavy vehicle registration policy”.…

A company’s defence of a truck driver’s attempt to claim a loading allowance merely for opening the curtains of a truck has succeeded in the Federal Circuit Court. J&C Independent Carriers was forced to defend its stance when a casual driver brought the case to trial in August, and faced a claim of $77,391 had it lost. The claim was essentially that “any part of the process of loading or unloading as such gave rise to an entitlement to the allowance”, the judge states in his decision. In the ruling, it was found that the the loading and unloading allowance in the Road Transport (Long Distance Operations) Award 2010 encompassed more than just the unlatching and opening of the curtains and use of straps. The judge notes that under Award…

KARLIE EASTER, left, has been appointed deputy chair of TruckSafe, the Australian Trucking Association’s industry accreditation program. Easter, who oversees safety management at Queensland’s KS Easter Transport, was appointed to the TruckSafe board in 2013, and has previously worked as an industrial advocate for Commerce Queensland. In her new role, Easter will help lead the board as it aims to deliver demonstrable benefits to road transport operators and other customers, as well as helping them meet their duty of care and chain of responsibility obligations. TruckSafe chair Ferdie Kroon says Easter has brought a new perspective to the group since joining its board. “Karlie possesses a wealth of experience within the transport industry’s safety, compliance and human resource fields, and we are honoured she has agreed to take on this…

Karyn Welsh, right, has been appointed as the new CEO of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport Australia (CILTA). Welsh has an extensive background in logistics and e-commerce, having previously been CEO for Go-Freight and general manager of Australia Post’s corProcure division. She also undertook the large national performance based standards (PBS) survey in 2014 for the Austroads project team before being appointed national manager for CILTA a year ago. Welsh holds an MBA in e-commerce.…

Every driver on Australia’s roads has a family and someone they love waiting for them to walk through the front door at the end of the day. The trucking industry has seen great improvements in safety, but when we look at road crashes involving any sort of vehicle we can see that 1225 people didn’t make it home in 2017. Australians wouldn’t accept this number of deaths if they involved planes or trains. We must not continue accepting these deaths on our roads, either, or the untold number of serious injuries that occur. With the support of our foundation sponsors – BP, NTI and Volvo Trucks – the ATA and our members have long argued that even one fatality or serious injury on our roads is unacceptable. We believe that…

The spike in heavy vehicle-related road casualties over summer was of great concern to all observers. It is hard to know what the average uninformed observer thinks about the road transport industry when confronted with the carnage that filled the media. However, it is even harder to know what went through the minds of informed observers. Chain of responsibility (COR) laws have been in place for a decade. But are they working? Are we doing the hard and evidenced-based thinking that is necessary to confront the road toll? We know that the causes of heavy vehicle accidents are complex. We also know that we have laws in place to address most, if not all, of the factors. Which begs the question: do we need better laws and/or are we making…

Fitted with new technology and unique features, the latest-gen Dometic CoolAir RTX 2000 truck air-conditioner has arrived and exceeded industry standards with better performance and efficiency than ever. The CoolAir RTX 2000 generates more than twice the cooling power with the same runtime due to the variable speed compressor. It is powerful in generating a full 2000 watts in order to cool down larger cabins quickly, especially ideal for daytime pit stops in hot regions. To provide this performance, Dometic’s product development engineers have put the RTX series parking cooler through extreme conditions in Australia. They utilised a global first mobile data interface to retrieve real-time data from field test equipment around the globe wirelessly. With this new technological approach, Dometic qualifies as the first accessory specialist to comply with…

Mahindra’s second-generation Pik-Up work and farm 4WD ute has arrived in Australia and brings a raft of changes led by a more powerful engine and a new 6-speed manual gearbox. The cabin interior is new too; and there’s more equipment, more safety features, and a restyled exterior. The Pik-Up was first sold in Australia in 2007 and was updated in 2011 with a new (Euro 5 emissions-compliant) engine and the addition of an Eaton automatic-locking rear differential. Since it arrived in Australia in 2007, well over 5000 Pik-Ups have been sold while, globally, some 500,000 Pik-Ups and Scorpion SUVs, which are built on similar platform as the Pik-Up, have been sold. Much of the Pik-Up’s appeal is, of course, in its pricing. This single-cab 4WD in basic cab-chassis guise is…